The present invention relates to a method for end processing of a surface of a shaft-like workpiece.
The operating characteristics, in particular of camshafts, and the ability to distribute a lubricant on the surface of the camshaft depend critically on the surface structure. One measurement of the surface structure is roughness. In this connection, it is desirable that the surface, in particular one of the bearing points of the camshaft, have individual, deep grooves, whereby the region between the grooves is as “smooth” as possible. In order to characterize the roughness profile of a surface determined with known methods, it is known to transfer a roughness profile determined on a measuring length to an Abbott Curve, whereby in case of a S-shaped course of the Abbott Curve, parameters can be determined from the Abbott Curve, such as core roughness depth Rk, reduced peak height Rpk, and reduced valley depth Rvk. In the frame of this nomenclature, it already is possible that a relatively small reduced peak height Rpk is achieved with a relatively greatly reduced valley depth Rvk, which, in turn, lies in the range of the core roughness depth Rk. For achieving such a surface, it is known to machine the surface first with a relatively coarse tool and subsequently, to polish with a relatively fine-grained tool.
The problem associated with the known methods is that greatly enhanced reduced valley depth Rvk relative to the core roughness depth Rk by producing deeper grooves cannot be achieved in any reproducible manner.